1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to dolls having hair for styling and, more particularly, to a doll configured to wear hair in a plurality of different styles, textures, and colors through the utilization of releasably attached hair sections.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of dolls by humans is believed to date back at least as early as 2000 B.C. and continues to this very day. Throughout that time, dolls have been used in cultures all over the world for many different purposes. The use of dolls as a toy for children is well established; so much so that it is a commonly thought circles that dolls may be the oldest known toy. It is also well known that dolls have been used in magic and religious rituals throughout the world for centuries. In more recent times, dolls have additionally been made as artistic pieces or made for collectible purposes.
In modern times, typical dolls are provided with artificial hair which has been permanently attached to the scalp area of the doll's head. In many cases, this hair is adapted to enable a user to style it in various desired styles. Indeed, styling head dolls, whether embodied as a doll having a full body or as a doll having just a head and/or upper body area, are common and are even provided with various hair styling accessories that are sized and/or otherwise adapted for use in styling the doll's hair.
A problem which exists, however, is that the hair on typical dolls, including styling head dolls, is usually permanently attached cannot be changed or otherwise substituted. Consequently, such permanent hair dolls lack any capacity to readily and easily change the doll's hair color or texture, or even to make more substantial changes to the doll's hair style. Furthermore, because the hair on such permanent hair dolls is subjected to repeated re-styling, the quality of the hair will often degrade over time. Such degradation can lead to the hair becoming tangled, matted, and otherwise no longer useable for styling purposes. In light of such issues, attempts have been made to address the problem created by permanent hair dolls.
French Patent No. 993,784, issued on Jul. 11, 1951 to Hatik, discloses a doll having a wig which fastens to the doll's head by way of elastic members as opposed to adhesive and is removable and interchangeable.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,903,640, issued on Sep. 9, 1975 to Dunn, discloses a doll structured for changing the appearance of the doll by changing the color and/or style of her hair.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,070,790, issued on Jan. 31, 1978 to Strongin et al., discloses a doll is with a doll head adapted to receive and releasably mount interchangeable hair pieces through a plastic clip covered with a fastening surface and mounted in a groove on the head and a separate hair piece having a complementary fastening surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,345, issued on Oct. 17, 1989 to Dirks, discloses a doll with a doll head for releasably mounting changeable hair piece thereon by way of a suction cup mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,340, issued on Sep. 19, 2000 to Zaborowski, discloses a stuffed animal toy with a removable head covering accessory such as a hairpiece, a wig or a hat.
Despite such attempts to address the problem created by permanent hair dolls, there remains a need for a doll having a head with a fastening surface and corresponding hair sections having a fastening surface for removably attaching thereto. It would be helpful if such an interchangeable hair doll was structured to provide a fastening surface which covered the entire scalp area of the doll head. It would be also desirable for such an interchangeable hair doll utilized a plurality of discrete hair sections which can be oriented as desired by a user on the scalp area of the doll head. It would be additionally desirable for such the plurality of discrete hair sections on the interchangeable hair doll to be adapted to be independently fastened to the scalp area of the doll head.
The Applicant's invention described herein provides for a doll with a head adapted to enable removably attachable hair parts to be secured thereto. The primary components of Applicant's interchangeable hair doll include a doll and a plurality of removably attachable hair parts. When in use, the interchangeable hair doll allows a user to change the doll's hair color or texture, make substantial changes to the doll's hair style or length, or replace existing hair by simply detaching existing hair parts and attaching desired hair parts. As a result, many of the limitations imposed in the prior art are removed.